Our guest blogger today is Morgan Hayes, graduate summer intern in the IMA’s Paintings Conservation Department from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. Morgan joined Linda Witkowski, IMA Senior Conservator of Paintings and project manager, and Christina Milton O’Connell, IMA Associate Conservator of Paintings, for the summer to complete the treatment of "America" by Leon Reni-Mel at the National Headquarters for the American Legion.
The National Headquarters for the American Legion lies deep in the heart of the Midwest, right here in Indianapolis. Not exactly the first place I would expect to find an early 20th century painting by the French artist, Léon Reni-Mel. Not knowing what to expect inside the formidable, austere building, I was somewhat surprised to find a quiet office space full of friendly staff, a small museum of military artifacts, and a grand meeting hall with a desk for each state’s representatives; the latter being home to the America painting, which has hung on the wall of the main stage for the past 90 years or so. My daily walk to our workspace includes a trip down a long hallway flanked by countless photographs of past National Commanders and officials from as early as 1919, the legion’s inaugural year. It is a daily reminder of the deep history and singular culture that this organization and its members have lived through.
Walk to work at the American Legion National Headquarters.
Another amazing glimpse into the history of this project was through the incredible collection of letters and archival material that has been preserved since the early 1900’s. I was privy to primary source materials written directly by Reni-Mel and various officials of the legion, including rare footage of the artist painting America in his studio in France.
Now onto the project: The painting, America, was created in 1918 by the French Ministry of War Painter, Léon Reni-Mel, and given to the American Legion for the United States’ assistance to France during the Great World War. The canvas is 12’ x 7’ and depicts two allegorical soldiers, one stalwart American raising his hand to halt the enemy while assisting the other, a wounded Frenchman about to collapse. The soldiers stand on a bank of highly textured mud with smoke and flames rising around them in the distance, blending slowly into the swirling colors of the sky. At the bottom of the canvas, Reni-Mel gave the work its own caption, AMERICA, flanked by the signatures of two honorary National Commanders, General John Pershing of the United States Army and Marshal Ferdinand Foch, the French Minister of War. Reni-Mel’s signature and the date of completion were also added at the lower left and right. The painting has very high impasto, giving the work incredible texture and depth, but making the cleaning process even more challenging!
Filed under: Art, Conservation
